Arkansas dad shoots, kills man found with his missing 14-year-old daughter, authorities say

Aaron Spencer was taken into custody and charged with first degree murder, a Class Y felony. He has since posted bail and been released.

A central Arkansas father has been charged with first-degree murder after finding his missing underage daughter in the car with a man, then shooting and killing the man.

The shooting happened in Lonoke County, about 75 miles northeast of Hot Springs.

Someone called the Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office around 1:12 Tuesday morning about a missing juvenile, the sheriff’s office said in a news release on Facebook. The girl is 14 years old and the man who was shot is in his 60s, Lonoke County Sheriff John Staley confirmed to USA TODAY Friday afternoon.

While deputies were on their way to the home, someone called to let them know that a father, Aaron Spencer, had found his daughter with a man named Michael Fosler, authorities said.

The two had a “confrontation,” and Fosler was shot and later pronounced dead at the scene.

Spencer was taken into custody and taken to the Lonoke County Detention Center. According to online jail records, 36-year-old Spencer was released at 1:12 p.m. on Wednesday. 

He is facing a “preliminary charge” of first degree murder, a Class Y felony, the sheriff’s office said. Class Y felonies normally carry a sentence of at least 10 years and no more than 40 years, or life in prison, according to legal website Justia.

Sheriff Staley said in a video posted on Facebook that the investigation is ongoing so authorities are only releasing limited details. The prosecutor will determine what charges will be filed and no official charges have been filed yet, Staley said. 

“I have not, nor will I, advocate for any specific charge,” Staley said. “This is a tragic situation and my thoughts and prayers are with all those involved.”

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Shooter posts bail; family trying to secure lawyer

A woman identifying herself as the girl’s mother, Heather Spencer, shared a series of updates on Facebook after the incident. She confirmed that the family was able to post bail and get Spencer out of jail, but they started a fundraiser to retain a lawyer.

“We are private people, so all of this being public has been very difficult,” Spencer shared on Facebook Wednesday afternoon.

In her post, she said the family had a no-contact order in place for Fosler due to stalking. 

Man killed was arrested earlier this year

The man who was shot, Fosler, had been arrested by another agency in July and booked for internet stalking of a child and sexual assault, Sheriff Staley told USA TODAY Friday afternoon.

“This guy that preyed upon their daughter was released on bond, and we had stopped him that night and got him with her,” he said. “That bond would have been revoked. He would have never got out of jail. None of the bond companies would have let him out. We wouldn’t let him out.”

She said her family thought Fosler had taken their daughter to kill her. Her daughter is a victim, and her family has a long road to recovery ahead of them, she said.

“We absolutely called 911 during the entire event,” she wrote. “We had no idea this man was in contact with our child again. He was waiting 6-9 felonies for what he did, not 2. He was looking at the rest of his pathetic life in jail, and our daughter was the only witness.”

“Some things we will never know, but we know that the police department afforded this predator privacy they did not give our family,” she wrote. “I’m deeply offended by the way this was handled by the county sheriff’s office.”

‘I absolutely do not support predators’

Sheriff Staley told USA TODAY Friday afternoon that he knows the girl’s mother is hurt and scared.

“I absolutely do not support predators,” he said. “I’m a daddy. I have three daughters. I know she’s hurt right now, but there’s absolutely nobody I would put ahead of our children, their children, my children.”

He said his investigators are trying to figure out what happened that day leading to the man’s death.

“When we get on scene and there’s a homicide, it means one person took the life of another,” Staley said. “It’s either justified or not justified. That’s what the fact finding, that’s what the investigation is going to find out.”

The murder charge against Aaron Spencer, the shooter and girl’s father, is a preliminary charge but it’s not official, Staley said.

Fundraiser for legal funds was removed by GoFundMe

The girl’s mother also claimed that GoFundMe, the platform they were using to collect money for legal purposes, was returning funds to donors and eventually said the fundraiser had been closed altogether. Instead, she is collecting money on Venmo and Cash App.

A GoFundMe spokesperson told USA TODAY Friday afternoon that GoFundMe’s Terms of Service prohibit fundraisers that raise money for the legal defense of anyone formally charged with “an alleged violent crime.”

“Consistent with this long-standing policy, the fundraiser has been removed from our platform and donations have been refunded,” the fundraising platform said in its statement.

On Thursday morning, Spencer thanked community members. She also thanked the other victims who reached out to her with claims that the same man attacked them.

“We have gotten a clear picture of a predator who continuously worked with children and preyed on young girls,” Spencer wrote. “This man was Chief of police in Indiana and resource officer, giving us a better idea of why the Lonoke county courts have been protecting him and going after my husband.”

She said the Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office’s actions are proof that the sheriff “supports predators” and that he will prosecute those who are trying to protect their families.

“My husband is a hero and we are so thankful to have him home with us for now,” Spencer wrote Thursday morning. “We want to do everything possible to ensure he can continue to be here to protect us.”

In a final post on Friday morning, she shared that she is overwhelmed by the support community members have shown their family. Her family plans to open a bank account to raise funds as well.

“Donations are wonderful and needed but despite the legal fight this has been the most traumatic event of our families life, all of us, so please just keep us in your prayers and add us to your prayer chains,” Spencer wrote.

‘I don’t file charges’: Sheriff says investigation is underway

The sheriff stressed that he doesn’t have the authority some people think he does.

“I don’t file charges,” he said, adding that the prosecuting attorney handles that. “We’re in consultation with the prosecuting attorney about what to do in this preliminary stage. All my deputies and investigators knew at that time is there’s a deceased man, a 14-year-old that was in the truck with him, and a dad saying ‘Hey, I stopped him for this.’”

Sheriff Staley said investigators were interviewing people Friday and have been all week to get the facts.

“We’re going to get this wrapped up as expeditiously as we can, and get the file faxed and over to the prosecutor so he can make an informed decision,” Staley said.

Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY’s NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Follow her on Twitter at @SaleenMartin or email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.